Saturday, November 10, 2007 DSWD gives aid, looks into Marianeth's case By Carlo P. Mallo
THE Department of Social Welfare and Development Southern Mindanao is already investigating the death from suicide of an 11-year-old girl in the city. The order from DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral to investigate the case was received by the regional office last Thursday.
As of Friday, DSWD Southern Mindanao remained mum over the issue as its investigation was still going on. A team of social workers was immediately sent to the family, residing in Ma-a, Davao City.
Raquel Nuñez, chief of the Health Community Based Service Unit, said they immediately extended financial and burial assistance to the family. "We provided at least P5,000 for their miscellaneous fees while the wake of the child is ongoing," Nuñez added.
Eleven-year-old Marianeth Amper, the sixth of seven children, is believed to have committed suicide due to the extreme poverty. Reports gathered by Sun.Star Davao revealed that her family is earning a meager income of less than P50 a day.
The standard minimum wage in Davao City is pegged at P240 daily.
DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral was reportedly very much concerned over the death of the child as the reason for her suicide was extreme poverty.
Cabral immediately called for an investigation on the incident after Amper's tragic story broke out.
On another concern, Nuñez clarified that Daniel Con-il is not the provincial officer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), as mistakenly identified in a news story published by Sun.Star Friday.
Rather, Nuñez said, Con-il is the provincial social welfare services officer of the local government of Davao Oriental.
Con-il was interviewed regarding his concern about the recent arrest of a foreigner pedophile who spent some time "volunteering" for a government-run orphanage in Davao Oriental, saying administrators of orphanages should be very strict in accepting visitors.
"We should check first their background, especially the foreigners. Allowing these visitors to stay for long inside the orphanage is not a good practice and that should not be allowed," Con-il said.
Three kids in the House of Joy orphanage in San Isidro town confirmed that the detained suspected pedophile, Paul Carlock, had fondled their sex organs and took photos of them naked.
Carlock was arrested by the US authorities when he arrived in the US from the Philippines for child pornography. US authorities confiscated his digital camera and laptop for containing nude photos of kids from the orphanage.
